The Best Mobile Banking Phone Apps You Should be Using – 2018 Update

Majority of our local banks here in the Philippines have their own mobile banking app. I am using four of them, and I am a satisfied mobile banker so far. With a prepaid mobile phone reloading as one of their features, I’d say they’ve been designed to cater to every Juan’s needs. These are the four mobile banking apps that I use:

Are you one of those who are annoyed by BDO’s one time password or OTP? I am too, but it makes me feel better knowing that it is an added security feature. Well, the BDO mobile banking app eliminates the need for an OTP so you can go to your transactions directly upon logging in.

Pros:
– web and mobile app login and password are the same
– OTP is no longer needed to login
– user friendly layout

Cons:
– difficulty logging in sometimes, and it doesn’t say if app is under maintenance or the internet connection is just too slow.– mobile phone reloading feature doesn’t recognize some Touch Mobile (TM) numbers.
– doesn’t show your full account number. This is a big issue for me because BDO doesn’t print account numbers on their ATM cards. I don’t memorize account numbers so I would need to find a computer to login to just so I could see my account number when I need it.

*2018 Update: BDO just incorporated Touch ID as a login option, and the app now shows your account number!

Along with BDO, BPI app is the first mobile banking app that I used. And just like BDO, it is very straightforward.

Pros:
– web and mobile app login and password are the same
– user friendly layout
– displays your account number– you don’t need to enroll a mobile number in order to reload them, the app will allow you to directly access your phone contacts! This is a very surprising feature because BPI often requires paperworks and a trip to their branch for enrollments.

Both my web and mobile banking experiences with UnionBank haven’t been very easy. You actually need to call them to complete setting up your online/web account. A few months later, I lost my access for reasons I don’t know. I did not call them again, and I settled to using their app.

Cons:– always under maintenanceOverall, I’d say BPI has the best app so far with BDO and Security Bank coming close. UnionBank still has a lot of improving to do. I feel that UnionBank doesn’t really cater to young customers which is why enhancing their online and mobile banking is the least of their concerns. And I understand why. With an initial deposit and maintaining balance of Php100,000, that is not very attractive to millennials (or most Pinoys for that matter).

*2018 Update: It looks like I’m not the only one complaining about UnionBank. They must have recognized the need to upgrade as they just changed their app, and it is already at par with the other three banks above. They now have Touch ID for login, and the account summary is impressive: